A Second Helping of Derek Wolfe against the Browns

Doc BearDec 29, 2012 5:00 PM

I’ve been an unabashed supporter of Derek Wolfe for quite some time now - I like his game. It might be easy to forget that I’ve also listed the concerns that I’ve had with his play, starting prior to the draft:

The first problem that I noticed with Wolfe was that oddly, despite his substantial college production and decent test times, he looked somewhat slower in the drills. He lacks some of the lower body development that I thought I’d see, based on the games I'd watched. Explosion, particularly on his first step, seemingly isn’t his forte, which is odd. I’ve seen him blow past an OL player, and I’ve seen him pretty much standing still when they got their hands into him, and I’m not sure which is the real Wolfe - probably both of them. He has several decent pass-rushing moves, including a nice rip move, and that’s not common among college players, but he also forgets how to use his hands and arms on other plays. That was true in the few games that I saw him - hardly enough for a full scouting report, but it matched well enough to those I have.

He cannot smoothly handle a double team and will often end up on the ground when faced with those - you can help him out schematically in degree, but that’s a problem at the next level. It’s back to his lack of good lower body strength and a resulting inability to anchor: his balance and ability to use leverage also play into that.

I’ve seen evidence of those pre-draft concerns at times this year, but I’ve also seen them diminishing.

We might not know how good this pick was for a couple of years. That’s the chance you take, and I know that people will say that this means that you go with a higher rated player. I don’t buy that. You identify the guy you think has the best chance of filling a role you see as essential.

That role is as an interior pass-rusher who can also handle the run on both the edge and the interior.

As Ted pointed out recently, Wolfe is playing more of a 3-4-type DE role for Denver; he tends to absorb blockers and free up the attack players - Wesley Woodyard (5.5 sacks), Von Miller 17.5 sacks, a new franchise record, and six forced fumbles) and Elvis Dumervil (11 sacks, six forced fumbles) - to wreak havoc in the backfield. The fact is, Wolfe has five sacks of his own now, after having notched one in each of the last two games. His role hasn’t kept him from being productive. I’m also seeing his development, game to game. His hard work ethic is paying off.

Some people point out that he’s ‘just’ an effort player. When that became a downside is beyond me, but it’s something that I read or hear at times. That effort mostly goes into learning NFL technique, which isn’t an instantaneous process. His role has encompassed RDE, LDE, DT, and NT in both odd and even fronts, so there’s a lot to learn about the techniques that are necessary at each.

With that in mind, I’d like to point out a play that I thought pretty much defined his year. It came last Sunday against Cleveland, in the second quarter with 7:58 left to play.

Wolfe is in a three-point stance as one of three down lineman in a variation on the old Okie 5-2 defensive look (Jack Del Rio’s creativity has been a constant pleasure to watch this year). Wolfe is noted on the screenshot - he’s next to Miller, who’s in a two-point stance.

Cleveland is in 12 personnel, using two TEs in what’s generally either a max protect or a power run formation; they're going with a run here.

At the snap, Wolfe fires inward - you can see that he’s slightly deeper than the other Denver linemen, so he gets a fast first step this time. He also gets his hands inside of the right tackle’s. In turn, he’s attacked by RT Mitchell Schwartz.

Brandon Weeden (3) is still functional at this point, and he’s handing off to Montario Hardesty (20). The WRs aren’t running their routes, so the Denver D knows that it’s a run and is responding accordingly:

In this next shot, notice that Schwartz has Wolfe (95) by the jersey outside his shoulder pads, which is an illegal hold. It won’t be called. Wolfe has opened his hips toward the run play and is making his way quickly down the line, while Hardesty looks for a gap.

Kevin Vickerson has been driven back by a double team, and it’s blocking the route of Keith Brooking to Hardesty. Wesley Woodyard, at the top, is also being held. Miller has lost ground. Wolfe, though, now has carried Schwartz nearly into Hardesty’s intended hole. Denver’s gap discipline is still good. There’s only a small hole for Hardesty to spring through, and Schwartz, if you look carefully, is about to fall backwards into it.

Wolfe torques his body, and Schwartz has nowhere to go but down. He’s going to land in Hardesty’s intended gap, making the RB hunch over and change his route a bit more to the outside. It doesn’t really matter if he does - he’s got almost nothing to work with. Schwartz maintains his hold, but Wolfe has his right arm free to hamper the RB.

Woodyard is breaking free of his hold, while Justin Bannan has held his gap well - those two are in position to make the stop. Wolfe would be making the tackle if not for the holding, but his play is making Hardesty move toward Bannan and WW.

That’s Champ Bailey just above Doom, and he’s gotten free of the (half-hearted) blocking by his WR, and is in backside pursuit. It’s about to matter.

The play ends quickly. Bannan has maintained his position, Hardesty has had to adjust his run to the right, towards Bannan, and Woodyard is ready to mop up if there’s an issue. Rahim Moore is at the far right above, coming in to make sure there are no complications. He’s been excellent in that role this year.

See that blur in the next shot, in mid-air and aimed at Hardesty? It’s Champ Bailey, who has since set a new record for DBs making Pro Bowls. This is one of the parts that only coaches, players, and well-informed fans catch - Champ’s run-stopping work is constantly effective.

I’m going to add one more screenshot - it gives a great picture of what’s happening just before the tackle. Bannan holds his gap, Woodyard is getting free of the other uncalled hold, and Champ is attacking from the back, while Wolfe narrows the gap by dumping Schwartz on his duff. Essentially, Hardesty is being penned in on all four sides. He does well just to get three yards out of it.

Wolfe won’t get a stat out of it, but when you look at what he does on this play, it’s one of the pieces that is crucial in creating the stop. Schwartz, by the way, is 6-5 and 320 - he outweighs Wolfe by 20 lb, maintains an illegal hold on him, and Wolfe still has the power to throw him to the ground, essentially with just one arm and the torque of his torso. Wolfe’s trying to keep his play-side (right) arm free to hamper Hardesty. That’s very good technique.

I’ve never suggested that Wolfe is without weaknesses - in fact, I mentioned quite a few early on. I do think that he’s underrated as Pro Football Focus's grades go, but that’s not a swing at PFF. They can’t factor in all the schematic issues, and Wolfe’s role in the defense isn’t always going to produce stats, either.

He does a lot of the grunt work, as Jack Del Rio, Doom and Von Miller, among others, have mentioned. Justin Bannan has commented on the number of positions that Wolfe has learned (or been exposed to) and how uncommon that is for a rookie. It will bear fruit down the road. Wolfe also has been in on the field for over 84% of the team's defensive plays - 896 snaps this year - which says a lot.

All in all, he’s doing a very good job. It may not always show up in the stats, but Wolfe’s power has increased; he’s increased his weight with muscle, and he’s commented that when he loses a battle, it’s due to losing his technique. That’s a major understanding for a rookie - with the kind of work ethic that the former powerlifter has, it’s the key to his improvement.

There are a lot of very good young players on the Denver defense - Rahim Moore, Chris Harris, Tony Carter, Danny Trevathan, and Mitch Unrein, among others. Wolfe is on that list, and Denver has needed a tough, rugged DT for years now. He’s been a good pick who wil get better.

Now we’ll get to see how he handles playoff ball.

Learn to laugh at yourself. You will be ceaselessly amused. - Sri Gary Olsen

You can reach Doc at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @alloverfatman

Ted takes stock of the Broncos defense as the team approaches the postseason

Thanks Doc Bear . I've got plenty of learnin' to do before I recognize good footwork shedding blocks, but certainly did catch your point about how Wolfe has improved in-season. It's a testament to him, and reflects well on the coaching staff.

We've talked about player development for years as a key to long-term team success. Now it finally looks like that might really be happening. Indeed, it's not just the expected top-shelf talent, but also guys like Unrein, Trevathan, hopefully Johnson - heck, maybe even Ramirez. That reflects well on everyone: front office, coaches, and the players themselves.

Posted by MakeCents02 on 2012-12-31 11:02:31

One more thing about Wolfe - I don't know how often home stadiums play special music when an individual player does something awesome, but I think it would be super cool if they would play this when Derek makes a sack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Posted by carsonic on 2012-12-31 10:36:51

Joseph I enjoy the process of creating them and interacting with you, so we both benefit. The readers are a pleasure to get to know, and that fact that you can enjoy and learn from them is the greatest compliment of all.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-12-30 13:26:48

carsonic Welcome! We've been providing this kind of content all season, and you can browse through the archives for Second Helpings if they interest you. Glad to have you coming by, my friend.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-12-30 13:23:54

Thank you for the time and effort you put into these.

I always enjoy reading them and learning from them.

Posted by Joseph on 2012-12-30 08:43:02

Wow, that was really cool. I wish I had found this site earlier in the year, if that's the kind of analysis you've been providing. Well, I hope we get 4 more games out of you!

Posted by carsonic on 2012-12-30 06:59:47

Great analysis Doc! It's always appreciated and your work tend to challenge me to look harder for techniques and tendencies.

I have been really impressed with Wolfe, especially the last few weeks. I have noticed how diciplined his play against outside runs have been, especially when it flows towards him. He constantly stays square to the line of scrimmage, only turning his hips to stretch the towards the sideline. A lot of young players turn to run and end up 6-7 yards down field, or on their back. He also stack very well on those plays, and usually succeeds at keeping his outside shoulder relative clean. That enables Woodyard and other LB's to scrape over him with no real danger of running into his back since he isn't driven back too much. Very encouraging to see!

Posted by Broncoswede on 2012-12-30 05:45:19

broncosmontana Are you wrong? Honestly, I'm a bit of a heretic on this - I admire the increasing use of stats in football, but there is a legitimate (to me, at least) concern with the tendency to use stats even over many years to determine, for example, if a TE who consistently gets you as many yards in YAC as they do in the reception is a positive. I've read playbooks and analysis since Sid Gillman was claiming that with two good TEs he could control the center of the field. He could. The Walsh/WCO tree has a lot of good uses of the TE. Others used them almost solely as blockers. Creating a stat that combines them all doesn't tell you if the single TE in X scheme with Y responsibilities is effective, but every coach I know of who likes the receiving TE (which is currently, I believe, most of them) will cheerfully take the guy with an equal YP-air-R/YAC. The multiple decade analysis doesn't help you there because you're starting to put apples in your oranges. There are multiple other examples. I tend to see a lot of things in the game as individual and unique, and that's just my own approach.Again - I believe that stats are powerful and useful tools, and I'm not dissing any site by stating that individual cases are often more complex than I've seen the tools for so far. The question and the problem of individual teams, schemes and responsibilities by position remain as tough questions for that field as I see it, so no, I don't think that you're wrong. Even film analysis without a comprehension of responsibility in that team's approach won't get you where I want to go. Using all three - stat, schematic and film approaches - seems to me to be the best way to approach it right now.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-12-30 04:12:32

I can see I'm going to have to start paying more attention to your columns during the offseason. As it is I generally just trust you guys to make accurate assessments and then tune in to see what was said about who we actually draft. This assessment of the Wolfeman was spot on, and what a great example. I can only hope PFF is paying attention, because Wolfe certainly seems to perform his role well. While I appreciate that they can't account for all schematic issues, it does seem like they should work hard to develop a more nuanced idea of what a player's role actually is if they're going to be in the business of assigning grades. Especially when assessing the DL, which is the fulcrum of pressure. Am I wrong?

Posted by broncosmontana on 2012-12-30 00:39:25

MakeCents02 Yes, the area of the country with the Olympic Training Center kind of made sure that one wasn't going to fly...

You're right about Wolfe's bedrock aspect in rebuilding the team's interior and run stopping groups. Amazing work for a single rookie season. Kendall Reyes with SD was about next on my list, but he didn't even make it to 500 snaps. Pretty astounding numbers by Wolfe - and the piece was a good chance to review his background and understand why he's the kind of player he is. National Strength and Conditioning Award for 2011 isn't small, and his work in powerlifting in HS set the tone for that.

I've been studying Lou Tepper's book Complete Linebacking. I can see where Derek's footwork in shed isn't right on some plays but with those powerful 80 inch wings, when he gets the footwork and his hand/arm thrust-away move to work in unison he's going to get even better.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-12-30 00:29:57

Thanks for the info, Doc!

Yeah, a 365 power clean is no joke. Wolfe is beastly.

As you mentioned, a huge part of his performance in the above play was his ability to not only effectively deal with the fact that he was held, but basically manhandle the offensive lineman that was doing it to him. And all of that while clogging up a hole on the way to the ballcarrier. I LOVE IT.

On a somewhat related note, I really enjoy seeing how the defense and JDR are playing against the run. Seeing a real-life, honest-to-goodness Broncos defense just funnel these elite backs along the LOS for one or two yards is a refreshing change from the bad old days. That fantastic play on early downs against the run is what helps guys like Von, Elvis, Woodyard, and Harris do what they do in the pass rush and blitz game on third and fourth down.

Thanks again for the information!

Posted by ronin_jubei on 2012-12-29 22:44:43

Great read, Doc - thanks! I think it's remarkable that Wolfe remains so effective having played so many snaps. (He's 12th in number of plays run this year among D linemen, according to FO; with well over 50% more defensive snaps than Brockers and Cox this year). No rookie wall here! Even Miller, though hampered by injury, seemed less explosive towards the end last year.

Manning is awesome (now that he's playing for us), but the D has been a joy to watch. At least Klis won't have to write an article this year to ponder the effects the mile-high air has on our defense.

Posted by MakeCents02 on 2012-12-29 22:14:09

I recalled a reference to his HS work, and he also took home this trophy: All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year by the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) in April 2011.

Weightlifter might have been a better term - I'm still browsing background articles.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-12-29 18:28:13

Nice piece mate!

Posted by boydy2669 on 2012-12-29 17:55:05

"Justin Bannan has commented on the number of positions that Wolfe has learned (or been exposed to) and how uncommon that is for a rookie. It will bear fruit down the road. Wolfe also has been in on the field for over 84% of the team's defensive plays - 896 snaps this year - which says a lot."

I think this is the key thing to consider when projecting Wolfe's development. His ability to play so many roles as a rookie is extremely uncommon. Even Karl Mecklenburg, who famously knew the assignments for the entire front seven, didn't become a starter until his third season in Denver. I could see Wolfe making a huge leap in production next season. I'm sure there have been times this season when he's thinking about his assignment on certain downs rather than simply reacting. With a year of experience under his belt, he will be that much quicker and more confident in 2013.

Posted by Yahmule on 2012-12-29 17:52:51

Very nice breakdown, Doc.

I hadn't heard that Wolfe was a former powerlifter. Have you run across his weight class and his PL total in any of your research?

Posted by ronin_jubei on 2012-12-29 17:51:36

Wolfe had a sack called back due to a Dumervil offsides earlier in the year, and was half a step away a couple other times.

You're right Doc...Wolfe has been getting stronger as the season has progressed. The Broncos are going to need him to make his presence felt in the playoffs.